Although they didn't fare nearly as well as fellow Teutonic thrashers like Kreator and Sodom in terms of career longevity or commercial
success, Würzburg, Germany's Paradox certainly seemed, on the surface, to have a better shot at the big time with their more melodic and
accessible style. Formed in February of 1986 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Charly Steinhauer, lead guitarist Markus Spyth, bassist
Roland Stahl, and drummer Axel Blaha, the group was heavily influenced by the biggest of all thrash bands -- Metallica -- and quickly
parlayed a few impressive demos into a deal with Roadr ...read more

Although they didn't fare nearly as well as fellow Teutonic thrashers like Kreator and Sodom in terms of career longevity or commercial
success, Würzburg, Germany's Paradox certainly seemed, on the surface, to have a better shot at the big time with their more melodic and
accessible style. Formed in February of 1986 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Charly Steinhauer, lead guitarist Markus Spyth, bassist
Roland Stahl, and drummer Axel Blaha, the group was heavily influenced by the biggest of all thrash bands -- Metallica -- and quickly
parlayed a few impressive demos into a deal with Roadrunner Records and a very impressive debut album, Product of Imagination, the
following year. This earned Paradox many accolades in their homeland, with both Rock Hard and Metal Hammer magazines naming them
"Best Newcomer," while fans voted them favorite German band behind only all-time heroes Accept and the Scorpions. But Paradox remained
largely undiscovered beyond Germany's borders, and despite closing out the year on a high with performances at Holland's Dynamo and
Portugal's Festa Avante festivals, the group's sophomore album, Heresy (produced by top thrash producer Harris Johns and introducing new
bassist Matthias Schmidt), became something of a make-or-break proposition by the time it was released in 1989. Sadly, and despite
showing marked songwriting improvement over its predecessor, the final verdict was indeed "break," and Paradox fell apart due to
disappointing sales and after being dropped by Roadrunner. A new version of the band was assembled by Steinhauer in 1999 with the
express purpose of playing at the Wacken Open Air Festival, but then stuck around long enough to record a third Paradox album, Collision
Course, in 2000. After this album the band again went on hiatus, this time because Charly Steinhauer contracted a serious intestinal
disease. In September 2005 Charly Steinhauer again reassembled the band with Roland Jahoda on drums and Olly Keller on bass. In
January 2008 Paradox released their fourth album, Electrify, which became a success especially in Japan. In October 2009 the band
released its fifth album, Riot Squad, the album's main themes concerning the problems and violence present in civilization. The artwork was
designed by Italian artist / Chile Claudio Bergamin who had also created the artwork for Electrify. « hide